Art purchasing advice
January 19, 2010 12:02 AM Subscribe
Advice for a neophyte purchaser of original art.
I'm interested in starting to casually collect contemporary fine art, and I'm having a hard time figuring out where to start. I'm in a big city (Los Angeles), and I've looked around some galleries, but I find it difficult to commit even when I see something I like. I can afford things in the ~$1000 range (though that would represent a big purchase), but I can't fairly judge if the value of the art matches the price. How can I get a sense of whether something will hold its value?
Here's an example of a dilemma I'm facing... There's an artist I'm interested in; really like his work. I can afford some of his smaller-format original pieces, or a larger-format limited-edition (~25) print. I like the prints a lot, but they're as expensive as the small-format originals (which are also quite nice). Is it smarter, from a collection point-of-view, to buy an original piece?
I'm interested in starting to casually collect contemporary fine art, and I'm having a hard time figuring out where to start. I'm in a big city (Los Angeles), and I've looked around some galleries, but I find it difficult to commit even when I see something I like. I can afford things in the ~$1000 range (though that would represent a big purchase), but I can't fairly judge if the value of the art matches the price. How can I get a sense of whether something will hold its value?
Here's an example of a dilemma I'm facing... There's an artist I'm interested in; really like his work. I can afford some of his smaller-format original pieces, or a larger-format limited-edition (~25) print. I like the prints a lot, but they're as expensive as the small-format originals (which are also quite nice). Is it smarter, from a collection point-of-view, to buy an original piece?
There is no hard and fast rule.. apart from this: buy what you like. At the end of the day, even if you want something as an investment it's still got to sit on your wall until the time you sell it. If you like it, that's not such an issue. If you don't, and you don't end up recouping the money you spent, it is.
The pricing is, by definition, arbitrary. There are ways and means of checking previous sale prices but that is about as good a gauge as it gets apart from your own good sense of what you like and how good or original a piece of art is.
If something is a limited edition print, try and get a sense of how limited it really is - it might be limited to 25 now, but future prints (if they get made) will change that exclusivity.
Finally, if something comes as a series and you like one, it may make sense to buy the series. Some anecdata, for what it's worth:
Some years back I had the option of buying a Banksy print, or a signed Banksy print. This was before he was famous. The signed print was roughly ten times the cost of the unsigned print. I went for the unsigned print. It cost £36. It is now worth £1,000. The signed print is now worth £10,000.
Before that, I bought an original movie poster from the 1960s Italian Job. It cost me £250, but it came in a series of four (I think). I could only afford one. It has also shot up in value. But the series of four is worth more than four times the current market value of each of the posters in the series.
To summarise:
- unless you're a pro or have great insight, buy only what you like;
- if you genuinely believe that the picture is good and will increase in value, buy the original;
- if something comes as a series, know that the future market value of the series sold together should be more than the sum of its parts.
posted by MuffinMan at 12:19 AM on January 19, 2010
The pricing is, by definition, arbitrary. There are ways and means of checking previous sale prices but that is about as good a gauge as it gets apart from your own good sense of what you like and how good or original a piece of art is.
If something is a limited edition print, try and get a sense of how limited it really is - it might be limited to 25 now, but future prints (if they get made) will change that exclusivity.
Finally, if something comes as a series and you like one, it may make sense to buy the series. Some anecdata, for what it's worth:
Some years back I had the option of buying a Banksy print, or a signed Banksy print. This was before he was famous. The signed print was roughly ten times the cost of the unsigned print. I went for the unsigned print. It cost £36. It is now worth £1,000. The signed print is now worth £10,000.
Before that, I bought an original movie poster from the 1960s Italian Job. It cost me £250, but it came in a series of four (I think). I could only afford one. It has also shot up in value. But the series of four is worth more than four times the current market value of each of the posters in the series.
To summarise:
- unless you're a pro or have great insight, buy only what you like;
- if you genuinely believe that the picture is good and will increase in value, buy the original;
- if something comes as a series, know that the future market value of the series sold together should be more than the sum of its parts.
posted by MuffinMan at 12:19 AM on January 19, 2010
Investing in art for money is a mug's game, and absolute, unambiguous mug's game. You will _never_ make any money from casually buying art, so please please put it entirely from your mind immediately. You will be much happier if you do. Buy what you like, and what feels like a reasonable price _to you_.
Oh sure, you might make money on one or two pieces, but how many pieces did you buy to get that one? For every Banksy, there's a thousand visual arts grads now working in a bank, or behind a till somewhere. Put it from your mind.
Despite all this, if you still want to ascertain the "value", look at the artist's previous work, look how much they charged for that. What are the differences between then and now?
Have they won any prizes?
Who is showing their work?
Are they the cheapest in an expensive gallery, or the most expensive in a cheap gallery? How many galleries are showing them?
Do they show internationally?
Are they shown in any public galleries?
Are they teaching anywhere?
Won any grants?
Published any papers recently?
Had any papers published about them?
Is their work a limited, one-time series ("flowers, from my trip to Italy") or is it just regular stuff they do all the time?
Have the collaborated with anyone?
Have they exhibited with a big hitter?
Some of these questions are more pertinent than others, but they are all relevant.
Pro-tip: you will have marginally more luck if you specialise in a certain type of art, be it sculpture, photography, etching, ceramics, whatever. Your wide coverage of a niche could result in bigger scores down the road, and build a valuable collection.
But seriously, don't worry about that. Buying art *will not* make you money. Put it from your mind.
posted by smoke at 12:35 AM on January 19, 2010 [2 favorites]
Oh sure, you might make money on one or two pieces, but how many pieces did you buy to get that one? For every Banksy, there's a thousand visual arts grads now working in a bank, or behind a till somewhere. Put it from your mind.
Despite all this, if you still want to ascertain the "value", look at the artist's previous work, look how much they charged for that. What are the differences between then and now?
Have they won any prizes?
Who is showing their work?
Are they the cheapest in an expensive gallery, or the most expensive in a cheap gallery? How many galleries are showing them?
Do they show internationally?
Are they shown in any public galleries?
Are they teaching anywhere?
Won any grants?
Published any papers recently?
Had any papers published about them?
Is their work a limited, one-time series ("flowers, from my trip to Italy") or is it just regular stuff they do all the time?
Have the collaborated with anyone?
Have they exhibited with a big hitter?
Some of these questions are more pertinent than others, but they are all relevant.
Pro-tip: you will have marginally more luck if you specialise in a certain type of art, be it sculpture, photography, etching, ceramics, whatever. Your wide coverage of a niche could result in bigger scores down the road, and build a valuable collection.
But seriously, don't worry about that. Buying art *will not* make you money. Put it from your mind.
posted by smoke at 12:35 AM on January 19, 2010 [2 favorites]
Oh, also: disregard when someone tells you a piece is "worth" something. It's only worth what people are prepared to pay, and the only way to find that out is by selling. Notional gains on paper have a funny way of evaporating in an auction or dealing situation. Past, recent prices for similar work are the only semi-reliable indicator*.
*this is why galleries are very reluctant to negotiate on prices.
posted by smoke at 12:42 AM on January 19, 2010 [1 favorite]
*this is why galleries are very reluctant to negotiate on prices.
posted by smoke at 12:42 AM on January 19, 2010 [1 favorite]
I'm fortunate to be related to/friends with several artists by blood and by marriage, some of whose work I've been gifted and some of whose work I've been able to buy at a "relative's/friend's discount".
Buy what you want to look at every day. Buy what will make you happy, what you will enjoy. There is a joke about "I don't know if it's art, but it matches my couch" but in all seriousness if it isn't something that you want on your wall or on your shelf, there's no need for you to have it.
Art collecting isn't the kind of investment that stock purchase is. It is an emotional investment. Some people manage to make that work for them financially, but the bottom line is that you are best off if you put something on your wall that makes you feel good while you're drinking your morning coffee*.
*the best piece I've ever purchased is actually the one I look at while I brush my teeth, an early self portrait of a cousin painted onto a shaving mirror, which is bolted onto my bathroom wall, much to his amusement.
posted by padraigin at 12:54 AM on January 19, 2010
Buy what you want to look at every day. Buy what will make you happy, what you will enjoy. There is a joke about "I don't know if it's art, but it matches my couch" but in all seriousness if it isn't something that you want on your wall or on your shelf, there's no need for you to have it.
Art collecting isn't the kind of investment that stock purchase is. It is an emotional investment. Some people manage to make that work for them financially, but the bottom line is that you are best off if you put something on your wall that makes you feel good while you're drinking your morning coffee*.
*the best piece I've ever purchased is actually the one I look at while I brush my teeth, an early self portrait of a cousin painted onto a shaving mirror, which is bolted onto my bathroom wall, much to his amusement.
posted by padraigin at 12:54 AM on January 19, 2010
Yes buy originals.
It's really very easy. Buy what you like. You will want to pay the price it takes to own a piece of art if you like it enough. If you baulk at the price you don't want it. Forget artists statements, awards, prizes and showbusiness elements of what you are looking at and keep narrowly focussed on your emotional response to what you are seeing. Don't allow your head to be turned by other people's opinions or "tip-offs."
posted by fire&wings at 4:39 AM on January 19, 2010 [1 favorite]
It's really very easy. Buy what you like. You will want to pay the price it takes to own a piece of art if you like it enough. If you baulk at the price you don't want it. Forget artists statements, awards, prizes and showbusiness elements of what you are looking at and keep narrowly focussed on your emotional response to what you are seeing. Don't allow your head to be turned by other people's opinions or "tip-offs."
posted by fire&wings at 4:39 AM on January 19, 2010 [1 favorite]
Buy what speaks to you, that you'll love looking at day after day, year after year. As others have said, buying casually without tons of research and significant money to invest isn't a way to make money.
I'm an artist. The most expensive piece of artwork we ever purchased hangs in our bedroom and I still look at it with enjoyment after more than 20 years - was well worth the considerable financial stretch at the time to buy it. I hope when people buy MY work that they have that experience as well - realistically for most people and most art thinking of it as investment first and foremost is a mistake. (and even for people buying major works as investment they tend to buy what they love)
posted by leslies at 6:03 AM on January 19, 2010
I'm an artist. The most expensive piece of artwork we ever purchased hangs in our bedroom and I still look at it with enjoyment after more than 20 years - was well worth the considerable financial stretch at the time to buy it. I hope when people buy MY work that they have that experience as well - realistically for most people and most art thinking of it as investment first and foremost is a mistake. (and even for people buying major works as investment they tend to buy what they love)
posted by leslies at 6:03 AM on January 19, 2010
How can I get a sense of whether something will hold its value?
You can't. Professional art traders can't. Nobody can.
Buy art you want on your own walls, and enjoy it as a thought-provoking decoration of your life. Don't buy art as an investment.
posted by Sidhedevil at 8:46 AM on January 19, 2010 [1 favorite]
You can't. Professional art traders can't. Nobody can.
Buy art you want on your own walls, and enjoy it as a thought-provoking decoration of your life. Don't buy art as an investment.
posted by Sidhedevil at 8:46 AM on January 19, 2010 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
That's it. Seriously. If you're buying art for your own enjoyment, that's really the only question that matters. Whether it's "important" work, or cutting-edge, or well-priced, or likely to be a good investment down the road... that's all a distant second. If you respond to something and you know it would bring you pleasure to look at every day, then it's the right purchase for you.
posted by scody at 12:17 AM on January 19, 2010 [4 favorites]